iNeed a Second Chance
by Destroyer of Cities
Summary: How far can you push your best friend when you're playing with her heart? Cam.
1. It's Just Not Right

**Hey guys! This is just a little something I was writing to ease some writer's block. This story is more or less a secondary focus, if I decide to continue it. There's a lot of smut in the future chapters, and some of it seems pointless. I hope you guys don't mind too much ;)**

**Enjoy, and please review! It means a lot!**

* * *

She was pulling her shirt over her head in the slow, relaxed way that she had. If she was in a hurry, Carly would never have known.

"Thanks for coming over," Carly said, her voice sounding weak, most likely due to the lump in her throat that came to her every time Sam left.

"Anytime," Sam said, looking straight into her eyes. Carly knew it was sincere. Any given time that she called Sam over, the blonde was over in a matter of minutes.

"Do you have to leave?" the brunette asked, feeling vulnerable wearing nothing and clutching the bed sheets to her chest to preserve her modesty.

Sam nodded, again in her slow way, but she wasn't quite as relaxed as before. "I have work in the morning, so it's best that I sleep at my place."

"What about tomorrow night?" Carly asked, looking up at Sam with hope pulsing in her eyes.

The taller girl ran a hand through her hair then turned to Carly. "You know I can't stay here anymore," Sam said, focusing her eyes on her hands as she pulled her shoes on. "It's just not right."

"Sam," came the brunette's attempt at protest as she pushed a quick hand through her hair, almost as if trying to make it look she hadn't been ravaged by a certain blonde vixen just half an hour prior.

"Carly, don't start this again. You made your choice," Sam stood from the bed in search of her socks. "You don't want me anymore."

"You're my best friend," Carly said. "I'll always want you around," she watched with lust-tinted eyes as Sam bent down to put on her socks with only a small, black lace thong on.

"You want me in a way that I'm not okay with. You can have my body, cupcake. But, you can't have me. You had your shot, and you decided to pass."

"Sammy," Carly began, pausing to take a deep breath. "I'm not asking for much. I just want you around more often."

"I'm around plenty. Even when you call me at 1.00 AM because you're horny, I come over and take care of you. I don't see what else you want from me, because you can't have my heart. At least not like how you want it, Carly!" Sam was becoming frustrated, and as she slipped on her jeans, she tripped and fell backwards onto the bed.

"Let's not be angry tonight, okay?" Carly tried to reason, barely biting back a giggle. She caressed Sam's hair gently as she continued to fight with her jeans, finally zipping them up and buttoning them.

Sam sighed. "Alright, Shay," she pecked the brunette on the lips. "I'll call you tomorrow?"

"Okay, do you need me to walk you out?" Carly asked, poised to stand from the bed.

"No, I'll lock the door behind me, just get some rest," Sam replied, stroking a few stray hairs out of Carly's face.

Carly nodded, smiling as she stole another kiss from Sam. "What time do you get off of work?"

"Eight," Sam said, standing from the bed and crossing the room at her leisurely pace. "Goodnight," Sam said, flicking the light off.

"Night Sam."


	2. It's Not 'Love'

**Hey everyone! I hope you are all well and happy. I decided that this chapter would be rated M because there's no use in waiting, it doesn't build suspense, since the first chapter was set after a sex scene.**

**Anyhow, I'm still looking for a beta, so anyone interested, please let me know! And thank you all for your reviews, they mean a lot to me and they actually give me things to think about in regards to the plot. (:**

* * *

Sam walked into her apartment after six hours of boring, slow-paced work. She went straight for her room and flopped down onto her bed, not bothering with a shower. She was exhausted, due to not getting enough sleep because she had been 'handling' her best friend's late night urges again.

Before her eyes could drift shut, she felt a brief vibration coming from her pocket. Sam sighed and fished in her pocket for her phone and flipped it open.

-Are you home?

_Oh yeah_, Sam thought to herself as she read the text. _I promised Carly I would call her…_

Without further hesitation, Sam pressed the talk button which automatically dialed the number of one Ms. Shay. It rang twice before she picked up.

"Hello?" Carly answered, and Sam could hear the smile in the other girl's voice, causing her to smile herself.

"Hey Carls, what's shaking?" Sam asked in her typical way, only slightly tired.

"Nothing, I'm just watching some TV. What are you doing?" Carly questioned, sounding a bit concerned. "You sound like you're exhausted."

"Yeah, I'm a little tired, work was a nightmare," Sam yawned, covering the receiver so Carly wouldn't hear. "I'm just lying in bed right now."

"Can I join you?" Carly asked, and Sam could almost imagine the puppy-dog pout Carly was putting on at the moment. "Please?"

"Yeah, why not. Come on over," Sam told her, shrugging her shoulders, even though no one could see.

"Okay!" Carly exclaimed, excitement finding its way into her voice. "I'll be over in a bit. Bye!"

"Peace," Sam muttered into the phone before closing it and letting her head fall back down to her pillow.

An unidentified amount of time later, Sam was being shaken awake by a towel-clad Carly.

"Wha?" Sam slurred, feeling as if she was inside one of her wet dreams.

"Sammy," Carly cooed, a blush tinting her cheeks and her damp hair brushed Sam's forehead. "Wake up."

"Why?" Sam whined, turning over. The half-naked brunette sat on the bed, not letting her blonde friend drift back to sleep.

"Because, Sam, you've been asleep for a while. I've cleaned your room, done your laundry and showered," Carly said, causing Sam to roll over and face her with a lopsided grin.

"Why'd you shower when you know you're just gonna get dirty again?" she asked, a lecherous smile creeping its way onto her face.

"Pardon?" Carly questioned, but instead of a response, Sam tackled the brunette, topping her with a grin.

"Oh, Sam," Carly moaned as her neck was assaulted by the blonde's tongue and her covered body was being covered by hands everywhere.

"Hm?" Sam wasn't really paying attention as she opened up Carly's towel to find her wonderfully naked underneath it. Her eyes appraised the brunette's gorgeous body; soaking it all in before she embarked on her task of making her fly from pleasure.

"Too much clothes," was Carly's reply as she lifted Sam's plain white shirt over her head and pulled the blonde closer to her, feeling that both of their chests were rising and falling quickly with deep, heavy breathing.

The foreplay was short, as usual, because this wasn't about love or anything like that. It was all about urges and needs and lust. Somewhere along the line, Sam had accepted this in a numb, surface-level type of way. But, as with anyone with a functioning heart, she felt the pain deep down.

"Is this what you came for?" Sam breathed huskily into Carly's ear as she stroked her now-slick opening. The brunette shivered at the close-but-not-quite-close-enough contact. She gave a small nod while biting her lip to prevent herself from moaning.

A small piece of Sam's heart broke every time, but it was a duty she knew she had to fulfill. Parting the lips of Carly's womanhood, Sam entered her slowly with two digits drawing out a gasp from the brunette.

"Oh, _Sam_," Carly whimpered, wrapping her arms around the blonde's neck as a pleasurable pressure began to mount in the bottom of her stomach. To silence her, Sam pressed her lips urgently to Carly's and their tongues began to dance together as they kissed with open mouths.

Sam's mid-paced thrusts were matched by Carly's hips rising every time in perfect rhythm. Every odd thrust, Sam would pass her thumb over the smaller girl's sensitive area causing her to jerk involuntarily.

Curling her fingers inside of the brunette and slowing her thrusts considerably, soon Sam felt Carly begin to shake as her walls tightened around her fingers.

A low moan escaped the brunette's throat as the orgasm wracked her body to a shivering mass. "Fuck," she groaned out an uncharacteristic curse word as her breathing hitched.

Sam continued her ministrations at a slow pace as Carly rode out her climax until her shaking had ceased completely. Then, slowly she withdrew her fingers covered in fluid and licked them clean individually as her partner watched.

Carly's breathing had yet to return to normal, so Sam wrapped her arms around her and pulled her close. "Are you alright?" she whispered placing a tender kiss on her forehead.

A nod was her initial response, but after composing herself a little, she spoke. "You get me every time," Carly purred into Sam's ear, turning them over so that she was lying on top of the blonde.

"Carls," Sam groaned, but nothing about her tone of voice or demeanor said that she was even remotely turned on. "I'm really tired."

Disappointment scrawled itself onto Carly's features as she visibly deflated. "You never want me to make love to you Sam." Her fingers were trailing themselves up and down her best friend's arm slowly.

"I just don't feel like _fucking_ right now," Sam stated, making the distinction clear between what her and Carly thought they were doing.

"Why do you call it that?" hurt was radiating through her eyes.

"Because, really, that's all I feel like this is," coldness was what Sam wanted Carly to feel from her, but she was afraid her mask would falter as it always did when she wore it for Carly.

"Well, I don't. And I don't believe that you really do either."

Sam lifted an eyebrow at her friend, but spoke no words. She moved to push the brunette off of her, but the adamant girl only sat up so she was straddling the blonde's waist.

"Listen, Sam. Please. I mean, you're always so gentle with me, never rough or in a hurry, and you care. You think that I'm attractive and you make me feel good about myself."

"Carly, you shouldn't need me to feel good about yourself. And anyone lucky enough to be with you would treat you the same way. No matter what you say, it's just fucking to me."

"How can it even be anything short of love-making when you make me feel like I'm the most beautiful girl in the world?"

Sam gazed at Carly with a pained expression on her face, shaking her head slightly and biting down hard on her lip. "Carly, maybe you should leave."

"Sam, I want to stay with you tonight."

"Please, Shay. This isn't going to end well, I can feel it."

Tears began to pool themselves in the corners of Carly's eyes at the thought of leaving Sam. "Please, I need you."

"You already got what you came for, why won't you go home?" Pain fueled anger struck Sam's eyes, but when she saw the complete hurt and tears that streamed down Carly's face, regret replaced the fire.

"Carly, I didn't mean –"

"You're right. I should go," she scurried from the bed to the chair in the corner of Sam's room to reunite with her clothing. As she pulled her jeans back on, Sam came up behind her and wrapped her arms around the crying brunette's midsection and pressing her body into her back.

"I'm so sorry, cupcake. Don't cry, I wanna spend the night with you, okay?" In truth, Carly could cry over any given thing, and Sam just melted every time. There was just no resolve in opposition of her best friend's tears.

Carly turned around in Sam's arms and the blonde brushed a stray tear off of her cheek. They shared small, hopeful smiles.

"Okay. Let's go to my house. The only thing you have in your fridge is ham."


	3. iMeet a Girl

**Hello once again, everybody! This chapter isn't really centered around Carly and Sam at all, and I hope this new plot addition doesn't make you all upset, because it will provide quite nicely for some good old DRAMA (:**

* * *

-Are you done yet?

Sam groaned as she texted back a swift 'no,' and shoved her phone back into her pocket. She picked up Carly's large laundry basket and stepped out of the elevator, surveying her surroundings.

The laundry room of Carly's apartment complex was much larger than the one hers had, but there were only a few people actually in there, especially for the early time of day that it was.

Shrugging, Sam carried the basket to an empty machine by a window that was relatively close to the door, placing the basket on an adjacent machine. Sam's phone vibrated and her eyebrow shot up at the message:

-Oh okay. Well, don't go sniffing my undies or anything.

The blonde smirked as she typed her reply: that's all the permission mama needs ;)

As she got the machine going with the light half of Carly's clothes, Sam started to sort through the darks, turning the shirts and jeans inside out the way Carly had nagged – er, instructed her to do.

"Hey there," a very feminine voice called. Catching the blonde off guard, she jumped.

When Sam looked up, she saw a very, very pretty girl loading clothes into the washer across from her, and smiling at her with perfect, white teeth.

"Uh, hey," Sam responded, smiling, but deciding to skip out on the charm. _This girl is outta my league,_ she thought, turning to continue sorting. _Almost as much as Carly is_…

"Are you shy?" the other girl asks, her smile shifted to being closed-mouthed and it shifted the side.

"Hah, no, I'm not shy. My name's Sam, what's up?" The blonde ceased her sorting and turned towards the brunette.

"I'm Nicole. I haven't seen you here before, are you new?"

"No, I'm doing my friend's laundry. She lives here, I don't know if you know her."

"I probably don't, but I want to know you."

Her interest being piqued by the girl's last statement, Sam raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah? Well, what makes you think that I wanna know you?"

"I have a hunch," the girl shrugged, causing her long, wavy brunette hair to bounce along her shoulders. "So, wanna get smoothies or something?"

Sam's eyes lit up at the mention of nourishment. "Sure, but I have to finish this. I kinda owe her," Sam says, rubbing the back of her neck with her palm. Turning to continue her sorting, Sam came across a pair of lacy black thong underwear that belonged to her at one point.

Her face turned pink as she held them up, not even being able to fathom how long Carly must have had them. Sam took her phone out and texted her best friend: you're a perv.

Carly's instant reply was:

-You found them? Haha ;)

Sam was not amused. She grumbled and threw the load of darks into the machine next to the lights, and added what she assumed to be the right amount of detergent. She looked over to see the brunette struggling to turn a sticky dial on her machine, so Sam, being the good citizen that she was, or rather, the selectively-good citizen that she sometimes was, ventured over to give her a hand.

"Here," Sam muttered as she reached over Nicole to the dial. "My building's machines are almost all like this."

While she worked the dial, Sam felt a pair of delicate hands making their way down her sides, past her waist line, then stopping settle on her hips.

Trying not to let her nervousness show, Sam bit her lower lip and turned harder, finally getting the dial unstuck.

"There ya go," Sam said, taking a step back from the machine and dusting off her hands.

"Thank you so much," Nicole said, smiling with her hands still on Sam's hips.

"It was nothing," the blonde assured, feeling the shorter brunette leaning forward towards her a little. She was suddenly aware of the diminishing space between them – not that Sam had ever in her life been one for personal space, but still.

"Either way, you deserve a reward," she muttered in response as she leaned in the final inch separating their lips.

At first, Sam was a little unsure about the contact, but after a moment she relaxed against Nicole's lips, returning the slow kiss. She was the one who pulled back first, but if only after a few moments.

Nicole looked up at Sam with a genuine smile on her lips, and then stepped back a little. "So, how does eight sound?"

Sam smirked at the shorter girl. "It sounds great. The Groovy Smoothie, right?"

"Yeah, that's my favorite smoothie place," Nicole said, causing Sam's smirk to turn into a grin.

"Alright, awesome. I'll see you later," Sam said, turning to walk away.

"Uh, Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Your laundry isn't done yet."

"Oh. Well, I guess I'm not really going anywhere then,"


	4. iDate

**Hey, how are you guys? I decided to leave this one with a non-cliffhanger cliffhanger, if you catch my drift. If there are any mistakes, please pardon me and let me know so that I may correct them asap. I hope you all enjoy, and please review, it means a lot! (:**

* * *

Sam walked into the Groovy Smoothie at exactly five past eight, as not to show up on time and ruin her reputation. She looked around slowly, spotting Nicole in the corner being hit on by a guy with a strawberry-banana smoothie in his hand.

Confidence flowing through her, Sam approached the two with a smirk on her face. "Hey, girl," she said, deliberately cutting the guy off. He shot Sam a dirty look and walked away in a huff when he saw how Nicole's blue eyes seemed to have lit up when she was addressed by the blonde.

"Hey, Sam, you made it!" she stood up and gave the blonde a brief hug, and as she sat, she took Sam's hand in hers and guided her down to the semi-circular booth.

"Of course I did," the blonde replied in her usual manner. She gave Nicole a charmer's smile. "So, do you wanna go get those smoothies, or what?"

Little did Sam know, one Freddie Benson had walked into the Groovy Smoothie to pick his mom up a Low Fat Banana Twist smoothie, when he spotted her with a gorgeous brunette who wasn't Carly.

_Is that Sam?_ He thought to himself, whipping his phone out of his pocket and sending Carly a text telling her about what he saw, along with a picture message of the two of them as he scurried out of the building.

--

After a date full of laughing, talking and shy smiles, they decide to call it a night.

"I'll walk you home," Sam offered, and Nicole seemed in no hurry to decline. The blonde stood and gave the shorter girl her hand, which she graciously accepted.

"So, did I manage to impress you?" the shorter girl asked, looking at Sam with a cheeky smile on her face and a blush across her nose.

Sam laughed and nodded slightly as they walked out into the Seattle night. "Actually, I was kinda worried about impressing you, to be honest." She looked down at her shoes as she shuffled along.

It was Nicole's turn to let out a small laugh, but it wasn't in the least bit taunting; it was very warm and inviting. "Well, then since we're both on the same page, I guess we can be sure that there will be a second date?"

"I think that sounds great," Sam replied, blushing tremendously when she felt a small hand lace itself with hers.

"How about Wednesday, we could go to dinner or something?" Nicole suggested as they walked into her apartment building and boarded the elevator.

Sam was nervous about going up to Nicole's apartment, but she decided to just go with the flow. "Sure, or maybe we could go see a movie, if that sounds good to you."

"It does," the brunette said, pushing the button for the seventh floor. Sam noted that Nicole lived one floor below Carly, which for some reason made her a little unsettled, but she bit it down.

The elevator came to a stop at her floor a few moments later and Nicole stepped out first, taking Sam's hand in hers and dragging her out with a large grin on her face. "Are you coming in?" she asked, looking hopeful and biting her bottom lip slightly.

The blonde examined her companion. Nicole looked extremely attractive with her long dark hair curled at the bottom in ringlets, and her very tight jeans. Not to mention that the blouse she was wearing gave Sam a nice view of her breasts, without showing too much. It was obvious that the girl had spent a good amount of time on her appearance, and that meant that she liked Sam to some extent.

Sam certainly didn't want to hurt such a gorgeous girl's feelings, or even worst, offend her, so she smiled and nodded, following the shorter girl into her apartment.

"You look really… nice," Sam muttered, not wanting to say something out of line as she approached Nicole. "I had a lot of fun tonight." She rested her hands on the dark haired girl's hips and placed a daring kiss on the smaller girl's lips.

The response that she received was another kiss right back and the other girl's fingers tangling into her hair as they began to get more passionate. There was no doubt that the two had an attraction, as well as near-tangible chemistry. After a time, Sam backed the two of them up until they reach the couches, which at that point, she gently picked the brunette up into her arms and laid her down on the couch and climbs on top of her, straddling her hips.

"Sam," Nicole breathes out between kisses. "I really like you," she mumbled as she sat up slightly and ran her hands through Sam's long blonde tresses again.

"I really like you, too," Sam said, gasping a slight moan as Nicole ground their hips together slightly. "I have to go," Sam springs up, planting another kiss on the smaller girl's lips as she stood.

"Why?" Nicole asked, looking hurt and biting down on her lower lip nervously in a way that was driving Sam crazy with lust.

"If I don't stop now, I'm going to render you unable to walk for a few days. I just need to cool off for a bit, it's nothing bad," Sam said, drawing Nicole into a tight embrace and kissing her one more time before exiting her apartment with the intentions of going to see Carly.


	5. iSay Too Much

**Hey guys! I'm definitely excited that people are enjoying this, because this is a fun story to write. I'm appreciating all the feedback that I'm getting, and it's always great to hear what you all have to say. If you haven't reviewed yet, please do as it is greatly appreciated on my part (:**

**Also, I'm still taking one-shot requests. I really wanna know what you guys are interested in seeing. (And no, I'm not going to do a spin-off of iPoke, ... yet.)**

* * *

Sam got off the lift and stepped out onto the floor of one Carly Shay, mere moments after she had left Nicole's apartment. Shaking the naughty thoughts of the shorter brunette out of her head, Sam composed herself and pushed her key into the lock of her best friend's door.

She entered, careful of making noise. Although it was only a quarter to ten, Carly could already be asleep, knowing that she sometimes did absurd things, such as going to bed before midnight.

"Carly?" Sam called tentatively. When she flicked on the light for the living room, she was startled to see her particular favorite girl reclining on the couch in her nightgown with a glass of red wine – or cranberry juice in disguise – cradled between her fingers.

"Sam," came her relaxed reply, betraying her noticeably rigid posture. She had yet to look up, instead settled for training her eyes on the glass as she swirled the liquid around before taking a long, quiet sip.

"Cupcake, what are you doing sitting alone in the dark?" Sam asked, walking over to her best friend cautiously.

"Oh, I'm just relaxing, y'know? Freddie sent me an interesting text today, along with a picture. Do you want to see?" Carly's tone was covered in ice, but Sam decided to go along with it anyhow as to not set her friend off.

"Uh, sure," she dutifully agreed, stepping closer to the brunette. Sam looked at the screen of Carly's phone and her eyes widened. There was a picture of her and Nicole chatting animatedly, in what anyone would assume to be simply a friendly matter, except that Nicole's hand was intimately covering Sam's, and there was a light blush covering the blonde's cheeks.

In real life, Sam paled, freezing in place and her mind slamming down on the gas and began racing at a million miles per second, trying to think of something – anything – to say to her best friend who was leering up at her expectantly with one arm crossed over the other and holding a near empty glass of what Sam could tell from Carly's breath was wine.

"You went on a date," Carly said, saving Sam the trouble of talking. She was now looking up at her best friend with completely solid brown eyes. Sam figured Carly must have known for a while, because she was already past the hurt phase, and well into the intense frigidness phase.

"Yeah, I, uh, I met a girl," Sam managed to stutter out, rubbing the back of her head in a display of intense nervousness and shifting her weight onto the other leg out of pure habit.

"I see," Carly said, averting her eyes and nodding. She set the empty glass down onto her coffee table and stood from the couch. "Goodnight, Sam."

"Carly," Sam said, reaching out and grabbing her best friend's arm. _Maybe if we can talk about it…_

"Don't even bother Sam!" she snapped, snagging her hand away from the taller girl. "You didn't even mention her to me, let alone the fact that you went on a date with her!"

"I just met her today while I was doing your laundry," Sam replied, holding hands up in a calming gesture, not quite raising her voice lest Carly become even angrier or having the neighbors complain like they do when Sam goes down on her – Carly Shay is a screamer.

"Oh, so she lives in this building?" Carly asked, narrowing her eyes to slits and tilting her head ever so slightly to the left. It was completely unnerving to Sam, who could feel herself starting to sweat.

"Er, well." _Fuck_, she thought to herself. "I guess you could say that."

"That's interesting," Carly said, pursing her lips and nodding. Sam could tell that her friend would be up to no good, and the growing pit of despair in her stomach only intensified that feeling.

Sam continued to mentally curse herself as she saw Carly stand from the couch suddenly, and walk towards the bedroom. "Aren't you coming to bed?" the brunette asked over her shoulder, behaving as if she had dropped the previous subject, but Sam knew her far too well to believe that façade.

"Y-yeah," Sam stuttered out, following her to the bedroom and trying to push her feelings of impending doom to the back of her mind.


	6. iPropose

**Hey everyone! I hope you liked that last chapter, because I really did. This one's got it's fair share of angst, so if that's what you're in the mood for, then you are in luck! I'm grateful for all the reviews that I have been receiving, they really help, especially when I'm tweaking the chapter for the final publishing. Anyhow, enjoy! (:**

* * *

"_It's been three years," Sam said, smiling down at her girlfriend and planting a gentle kiss on her forehead as she pulled her into a warm embrace. "I love you, Carly, with all of my heart."_

"_I love you, too, Sam," Carly replied in a voice close to a whisper, leaning her head into the crook of Sam's neck and releasing a contented sigh as they swayed together as one, to and fro to the gentle music playing in Sam's dorm. "I wouldn't want to be with anyone else."_

"_Do you really mean that?" Sam murmured her question and stroked the back of her beloved's head with caring hands._

"_Of course I mean it, and I always will," Carly replied, without even as much as a moment's hesitation._

"_In that case," Sam mumbled, reaching into her pocket and fishing out a small, black velvet box. She broke the contact between her and Carly and knelt down on one knee in front of her as she opened the black box and looked up at her girlfriend._

.

Sam's phone went off to the tune of 'Three Cheers for Five Years' by Mayday Parade, signaling that her best friend was calling her. She pressed the ignore button and turned back to a smiling Nicole.

"Sorry about that," she said, smiling sheepishly as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and sent a text to her best friend that read: I can't talk, I'm with Nicole. Is it important?

.

"_Carlotta Taylor Shay," she began after she heard a sharp gasp, noting the slight tears that were forming in Carly's eyes and the hand that was covering her mouth that hung agape. "Will you marry me?"_

_The brunette, still covering her mouth and now with tears streaming in slow, warm rivulets down her cheeks, shook her head 'no' slowly._

.

Carly looked down at her phone in an irritated manner, seeing the text message that Sam had sent her. Carly knew that Sam was with Nicole, but she still wanted to be able to talk to her.

She flipped the keyboard on her phone out and typed 'no, it's fine' back to her friend, then huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

When she didn't receive a reply, Carly sighed and stood from the couch that she was sitting on. If Sam wanted to be with that _girl_, then it was fine with her.

_As long as Sam is happy_, Carly reasoned with herself, but deep down, she didn't quite mean it.

.

_The blonde cocked her head to the side and stood slowly, allowing her companion to get a closer look at the ring. It looked expensive and the diamond in the center was huge._

"_Carly?" Sam questioned nervously when she got no response. "I can't image life without you, and I-I even got Spencer's blessing," she said. Her confidence and resolve seemed to waver with each moment that her girlfriend didn't speak._

"_I can't," Carly finally managed to choke out. Her head was spinning as reality finally set in. Sam wanted to__** marry**__ her, as in a permanent arrangement of being different from the rest of the world._

_Sam took a solid step back, but she looked like she was shaking. Her eyes were filled with tears and her throat felt like it was clogging up with questions and words that she couldn't quite sort out. "What do you mean?" she asked, and found herself resisting the urge to cover her ears in fear of the answer._

"_Sam, I –" Carly looked like she was about to pass out, and she slumped against the nearest wall for support as sobs began to wrack her body. "I can't love you like that; I don't think I ever can." She covered her face with both palms as she began to sob helplessly._

"_Love me like what? I thought we were in love!" came Sam's roaring rebuttal, as she closed the velvet box and squeezed it in her palm. While her angers spiked, the gentle music in the background was totally eclipsed by her voice. "Is this some kinda game for you, Carly? Because, I thought all these years actually meant something to you!"_

"_I do love you Sam, and it's not a game, but you can't give me the future I want! I wanna have kids and be normal, and you just can't give me any of that, I'm sorry," Carly replied in a final, yet resigned tone of voice, leaving her would-be fiancé with no room for further argument._

_Sam hung her head low and her tears bombarded the carpet of her dorm with unheard pain. "Fine," she nearly whispered, but the brunette had heard her loud and clear. "Carly Shay, I don't ever want to see you again. When I get back, don't be here," she spoke in a cold, bitter way as she tossed the near crushed velvet box down at Carly's feet._

"_Please, Sam –" a hand went up as the blonde walked towards the door, signaling that nothing more was to be said. The brunette's eyes followed Sam's movements as she grabbed her leather jacket and her cigarette's and bolted out the door._

_

* * *

**dun dunn DUN. (:**_


	7. Dirty Laundry

**Hello everybody! I sincerely hope that you are all well, I know that I am (: I haven't posted an update on this story in so long and I don't want to leave anything unfinished. I'll be wrapping this up in a few chapters, unless something goes terribly wrong, which actually happens a lot haha.**

**Sadly, at the moment I am not accepting one-shot requests, but thank you to the people who have been sending me them recently! I keep everything filed away, so I won't forget, I just get caught up with partying and stuff so I haven't been writing as much. I actually just got back into the kick of it, so once I get everything kinda updated I'll be accepting them again - look forward to that in the next two weeks or so. **

**Also, I'm starting schooling again in a few weeks, so I'm not sure how that will affect anything if it does at all. I apologize in advanced, I suppose lol. **

**Anyhow, enjoy!**

**

* * *

**

Doing laundry during the weekends is always a catastrophe in my building, but this is the only day that I have off for the next four days, so I have to get it done or face the consequences – stinky, re-worn clothes.

I guess now that I think of it, I've been purposely over-scheduling myself so that I wouldn't have time to think about how bad things have gotten. Sam and I never hang out, she won't talk to Freddie and the only thing that is ever on her mind seems to be that wench, Nicole. I sigh in depression at how bad things were and how unladylike I was willing to be as I begin to measure out the appropriate amount of detergent.

There's a brunette five machines to my left who looks really familiar, and it's been bugging me since I first spotted her. I glance over at her and our eyes happen to lock. Her face lights up and she takes a few steps in my direction.

"Hey, you're Carly, right?" she asks, and then I realize that this was Nicole. I didn't really recognize her because she and Sam were always together, and I haven't really spent much time with Sam since they started dating a few months ago.

"Yeah, and you're Sam's girlfriend, Nicole," I say, and it's not a question as much as a confirmation. Now I can see why Sam is so… it hurts me to think this, but, so head over heels for her – she's gorgeous. She has piercing blue eyes that shine even in the dim light of the building's dingy laundry room and perfectly tan skin, as well as a flawless smile – she seems to be pretty much the whole package. I internally scowl, but on the outside I maintain a friendly smile.

"Mhm, how are you? I forgot Sam told me that we both live in the same building," she says and I have to say that I nearly forgot as well. I notice that she's wearing one of Sam's favorite t-shirts, one that I bought for her actually. I can tell that this is going to be a fantastic encounter.

"Yeah, that's right. I'm doing alright, just trying to get some laundry done before I don't have time to do iti," I say, sighing and slouching against the back of the machine behind me.

"Me too," she responds. "No matter what, I can't seem to get Sam to handle the laundry duties for me, even though she was glad to do yours," she comments, pouting slightly at the thought. "Oh well, it can't be helped, seeing as you guys are best friends and everything," she says with no malice in her voice.

"Hardly," I retort with a shrug before I can even think to keep it in. "Lately we seem to have grown apart, but I guess it's natural," I say, leaving it at that. Just because Nicole is the reason Sam has been ditching our friendship doesn't mean that I wanted to make her feel bad about it.

"Really?" Nicole asks, raising a brow and looking as if what I just said didn't make a lick of sense. "Her face lights up whenever she mentions anything involving you, whereas I have a hard time just getting her to open up to me," she says, putting a hand on her hip and furrowing her eyebrows together. "It's odd, like there's some invisible barrier keeping her from letting me in."

I grimace, knowing exactly what that invisible barrier was made of, and from what it was made to protect Sam from in the first place – me. "I thought you guys were happy?" I ask, secretly hoping that there was trouble in paradise and hating myself for it all at the same time.

"We are, but… there's just something missing. It's hard to explain, kinda like she's hiding herself away from me when we start to get into deep emotional places. It feels like there are parts of her that she isn't showing me,"

"I completely understand," I say, and I choose to leave out the part where I tell her that it's one-hundred percent my fault.

"So, I have to ask you something, Carly. But, you have to promise not to tell Sam, she's very touchy about this topic," she says, looking as if she were about to confide something extremely important to me.

"Sure thing," I say, a little nervous about where this conversation could be headed. I toss the remainder of my clothing into the machine as well as two quarters as I start the washing cycle.

"Well, I've asked Sam a couple times if the two of you were ever, you know, _together_, and she always evades the topic or she begins to ignore me altogether. She never acts like that for any other reason, and I just wanted to know if there was something," she says, biting her lower lip and looking a little bit unsure of herself.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't feel like it, but I'm not really the jealous type, and I'm not out to pick a fight, Carly," she says. "I just want to be able to be a good girlfriend and be sensitive to her needs, and right now I have no idea what they are."

Damn, she really is perfect.

A small sigh escapes my lips and I shift my weight over to my right side as I think over what to say before I speak. "Er, yeah, we were together for about three years – from our senior year of high school into college, and things turned really bad really fast for us," I begin. "Sam wanted to get married, and I told her it wasn't something I was going to be able to do." And yes, that is how I decide to summarize the terrible thing I did to the previous love of my life – don't judge me.

Nicole's eyes were wide as she took this information in. It was most likely more than she expected. I didn't even expect Sam to propose to me – no one did. It was something that seemed out of her character, and marriage never seemed to be a priority for her.

"Wait, you mean to tell me that Sam proposed to you and…"

"And I said 'no,' Nicole," I finish for her, feeling the sting of tears at the corner of my eyes. "I guess she's never really been the same," I mutter, turning towards the washer and rub the side of my index finger over my forehead as I try to regain my composure.

"I see," my fellow brunette says after a time, a hint of revelation in her voice. "That really helps to clear things up for me, Carly, and I just want to thank you very much for letting me in on that." There's so much sincerity and caring in her voice and I can't help but think that this girl is going to make Sam very happy – just like I refused to do.

We make pleasant small talk for a while, talking about television shows and our favorite nail salons until Nicole's machine stops signifying that her laundry is done. My mind won't stop thinking about how much I've really done to hurt Sam and how now that Nicole has come to love her, I've finally lost my chance for good. It's what I deserve – how I treated Sam was unforgivable.

As she leaves, Nicole gives me a hug and a warm smile. "Don't beat yourself up over the past, Sam still cares about you very much," she says before exiting the laundry room.

I release a forlorn sigh and slump against the machine that was behind me once more as I waited for my clothes to finish drying. My thoughts begin to wander off to the past.

.

_I sit inside of Sam's dorm room, watching the door as if it would bring her back. Hours have gone by, it's about two in the morning and she has yet to return or even call. I'm starting to feel like neither will happen. Needless to say, I'm a nervous wreck. I'm so worried; what if something has happened to Sam?_

_At this point I am completely exhausted and I don't feel like walking back to my dorm even to sleep. As I shuffle over to Sam's bed, I catch sight of the black, crumpled ring box sitting dejectedly on the floor._

_Leaning down to pick it up, I open the box and examine it. It had to have been at least a thousand dollars, if not more, and I know that Sam had been eyeing a new meat locker. I wondered why she didn't just buy it, since she had a job. Now I know why. She wasted her money on me._

_She picked me over meat._

_Moving slow and uncoordinatedly, like I had no life left inside of me, I tuck myself in between the sheets of a bed that Sam and I had shared countless nights on and fall into a fitful sleep._

_The next morning, I wake up feeling terrible. The reality of the situation that was last night just hit me like a Mack truck and I think maybe I have lost Sam for good. Maybe she's with somebody else right now, trying her best to forget about me._

_I roll over and cast my eyes over the edge of the bed, allowing them to look about the room sluggishly as I finish waking up. As they drift ever-closer to the ground, I see the crushed ring case and the abandoned / homeless ring on the floor, having probably fallen out of the case when I knocked it to the ground in my sleep._

_I reach down and pick up the ring, examining it closely. It seems to be engraved on the inside. I squint in the dim light – Sam never opens her blinds – and make out what it says._

_'You will always have my devotion,' it says._

_I cover my mouth with my hand as I choke back a sob. I could feel my cheeks warming as tears spilled over them. Carly Shay, you've really done it this time._


End file.
